Crow Moon

[yeahbutnobut]

Crow Moon

This is the final Full Moon of winter. The call of the crow signals the end of the frost, and their scent, of vervain, black violet, white musk, and Chinese cedar, is brushed by the last cold wind of winter on their wings, and the scent of evergreen boughs touched by the season’s final flowers and the first blossoms of spring: wintersweet, green-barked dogwood, primrose, snowdrop, and lenten rose hellebore bouquet.

 

In the bottle: soft, sweetish herbal-floral. This does smell quite perfumey, but in a good way.

Wet on skin: out comes the hollow wooden scent of cedar, with hints of fir, violet and musk, but also something rather perfume like.

Dry on skin: mmm, this isn't bad! It is totally different from the 'snowy' moons that came before, this smells cool and airy but this is an early spring night with a slight chill in the air, not a freezing winter one covered in snow. I smell something almost like mint here, a very subtle evergreen, as well as a soft ozone like note- probably winter wind, as well as the musk, cedar (this is a particularly nice cedar) and violet. There's also a perfumey aspect to it, almost reminiscent of the nicer perfumes from a department store. I wonder if that is due to the floral notes…I get something reminiscent of Black Hellebore (which also smelt quite posh and perfumey), and hellebore is a component here. It also reminds me of Arkham (Revisited), but less sweet and much cooler. I smell hardly any verbena here-just a tang, nothing more, maybe the vervain is a softer, less lemony version.

After a while: this becomes more and more perfume-like and the throw increases. It now reminds me of Arkham even more, but without the cloying sweet note that made me dislike that scent. The cedar is now a lot quieter, the violet and white musk are now at the fore, fringed with green notes and with a background of pale, soft, fresh floral notes I can't identify. It does smell very sophisticated though, very sleek and chic, and quite unisex. It also reminds me of a face cream my mum used to buy.

Eventually this becomes a soft, smooth violet perfume. But this is not your usual violet scent-it has none of the 'old fashioned' feel that can sometimes appear in violet scents-this smells like a more 'modernised' violet, smart and stylish, violet graced with chilled silvery musk and a background of warm woods and bright flowers.

Verdict: I was expecting something very similar to Wolf and Hunger Moons, ie with the 'snow note' to it. But this is totally different, in fact this is a highly unique BPAL and smells surprisingly like a well made expensive and modern perfume. This could definitely be a scent wafting from a perfume counter, but as it's BPAL, it is more unusual and without the sharp slap of alcohol. It's such a well-blended scent, aloof, sleek as a crow's feathery coat. It is silvery, a gentle and mysterious scent with a very pretty and fresh violet note which is like no violet I've smelt before (no 'old lady' or 'Parma Violet sweets' here!), a solid cedar base, fresh ozonic notes and white musk, a little evergreen, and some dewy floral notes. It manages to be ethereal and ghostly and evocative of those last cool nights of winter leading to spring, and yet it also smells very contemporary and classy, and mature. This is what I wanted Numb to smell like, actually, when I heard it was an ozone-violet-perfumey scent. this is quite different to most BPALs I've smelt, it really is one of a kind…though it does remind me of Arkham Revisited but colder, a little frostier. It is a beautiful scent, and I admire the artistry of this scent, and it's uniqueness, but I think it may be a little too perfumey for my tastes. It's lovely, but I'm not sure how much I'd actually wear it-I think it's because it reminds me of something my mum used to wear? I might try it again though-it may be one of those scents that grows on me.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Not sure. It is very well made, intriguing and unusual, but a little too perfumey for me.

If you like this, try: Arkham (Revisited), Black Hellebore, The Raven, Black Ice, Snow Flakes, Jolasveinar, Numb

[ilona]

Huh. This starts out very grassy and summery, then quickly changes to a wintery scent. Icy, minty and a little coconut? And buttery? What the heck are the notes again?

 

A little while later this is pretty much butter mints with the barest touch of floral. It's light and quite lovely. Cool and pretty.

[emzebel]

A light herbal scent with a undertone of chilled flowers. This is very pretty and it is wonderfully appropriate for the March moon, in this month of transition from winter to spring.

[euterpe414]

At first this one goes on smelling like an aquatic (?) - very watery and clean. Then the woodsiness and herbalness begin to blossom once it has been on my skin for a while. I am not getting any of the 'coconut' or 'buttery' thing that other people have been smelling, which is neither here nor ther for me. This scent, to me, doesn't need that element to be good. Once it has been on my skin for a while it smells kind of like the park near my house after it has rained for a few days.

 

Crow Moon rests on my skin as a light herbal/minty scent with a faint backdrop of woods. It is very lovely and I am sorry I didn't order a bottle of it when it was available. I think I may hunt down a bottle on the forums, though...

[flyingpizza]

I need to learn that wintry, snow scents just aren't for me. That being said, if you are a fan of The Darkling Thrush, you'll like Crow Moon. It has that delicate, cold floral touch that on me is headache-y and soapy, but works on many of you. Lovely, but I will be passing it on.

[Archaic Smile]

Cedar and evergreen stand out at first, but it quickly dries down to a very pleasant, light and almost chilly floral with a subtle musk note. Normally scents like this don't last very long on my skin, but time adds strength to BPAL and I'm happy to say Crow Moon's throw and longevity has increased substantially over the past few weeks: At least up to 5 hours with an average decrease in throw.

 

Actually, this scent would be perfect for a locket.

Edited March 29, 2007 by Archaic Smile

[phedre]

In vial: I get something orange scented here, and the cedar too.

 

On skin: Neat! There's something in here giving my skin a cooling sensation, like peppermint. I'm not familiar with a few of the notes listed, and nothing's jumping out at me. Perfumey, for sure, with the musks and the violet. A slightly sweet floral with a wood background.

 

Drydown: The evergreen's finally coming out. Normally this dominates on me, but not here.

[supremegoddessofall]

This is a lovely winter scent. Crisp and minty without being overbearing with some lovely winter florals mixed in.

[isisonearth]

I have a hard time seperating all the florals in Crow Moon but overall it gives me the feeling of the smells of spring blowing on a cold wind. Very evocative of walking in the woods in March. Late in the day it smells like peeled green twigs with a hint of daffodil on me.

[Miss Lynx]

This one sounded like trouble to me from the description, due to the florals, but at the same time interesting enough that I couldn't resist joining a decant circle to try it out. And it truly is a very interesting scent -- a light herbal-floral, but complex and multilayered, and strangely evocative, though I'm not sure offhand of what.

 

It's definitely not my usual sort of scent, but it's quite fascinating. There really is an airy and cold feeling to it, but not wintery - it's very much early spring, as it's supposed to be. There does seem to be a touch of that "snowy" note that's in Talvikuu and a few others, which I don't entirely like (it seems to be an ozone variant, and ozone nearly always smells nasty and synthetic to me). But the other notes keep it tolerable, and interesting.

 

Unfortunately, the longer it's on my skin, the more two notes seem to rise up and take over: cold, soapy/powdery violet, which is nearly always death to a scent for me, and that snow/ozone note. The combined effect of the two began to be headach-inducing after a while, and I had to go and scrub it off, as a slow throbbing pain in the back of my head threatened to start evolving in migraine-like directions

 

Oh well... This would be a fascinating scent on someone else, maybe, who handled ozone and violets better than I do, but I think I had better consign it to the swaps for my own safety.

 

Grade: C+/B-

[sofaking6]

Black violet, eh? All I can say is...more more more!

 

In the bottle, I can't smell violet at all. It's almost herbal..a very fresh and green scent.

 

But as soon as I put it on, it explodes in that frost violet like Darkling Thrush, only darker and stronger. That is some NICE violet.

 

As it dries, I lose the violet altogether for awhile. Which should really piss me off, but I happen to also love cedar and woods. In this stage the blend totally represents spring, the smell of the woods with the snow just melted and small flowers peeking up. It's the smell of nature coming out of hiding.

 

But as the woods fade a bit, the violet comes back, along with the puffy-cloud white musk and at this point you can really start to pick out the other florals. They are bright and light, the essense of being in the moment of appreciating a spring day after a long, cold winter.

[sarada]

Once again, I wrote a review for this in my head in the car and never wrote it down when I got home.

 

Crow Moon is one of those scents that may not blow you away but it will come back to haunt you. The crow looking in the window from a frosty tree branch, while the first struggling greenery of spring tries to take root and the last snowflakes still flutter cautiously in the sky. You'll walk down a long country path, thinking you're alone, but in the sky above the crow is trailing silently behind.

 

Crow Moon doesn't blow me away, but I want to smell it. There is a certain time of day, when you can't see the sun or the moon, it's not quite dawn or dusk, but a soft grey light suffuses everything -- that's almost what it is like.

 

At first the soft fainty dusty herbal violet is at the forefront, a similar scent to The Darkling Thrush with just a hint of the powdered foundation makeup scent that I am not wild about. But it comes and goes. There is a touch of sweetness, another breath of soft herbs (I think of soft sage leaves, even though I don't smell them), and branches both green and frosty. There's a hint of a minty, wintergreen scent, but then it takes flight and the same cold green cedar from Wolf Moon steps in.

 

This is definitely the scent for late winter/early spring, or a cold spell in spring like we're having where I am right now. I may not wear it often, but I will always be glad it's there.

[Tess]

I love white musk and I love cedar. Well, I think that takes more stress. I LOVE white musk! However, there are so many floral notes in this (and I'm not that great at distinguishing floral notes) that I'm a little worried.

 

In the bottle - Cold, cold floral with green hints to it. I don't smell the musk at all, but I believe the cedar is lurking in there, buried under green notes. It's VERY snowy floral to me, though.

 

Wet - Not the violet, but I believe the primrose is taking the floor on this one.

 

Drying - Ah, there's the musk. It's buried under all that white floral and the touch of cedar. Is there wintergreen in this? There's a teeny bit of a mint note in there amongst the other green notes.

 

Dry (1.5 hours) - It's gone much fainter. The floral has calmed down and the musk and mint are hanging out. It's VERY faint. VERY. But... strangely nice.

 

Overall - Huh. I'm not sure, really. The floral was so strong to begin with that part of me wants to say "no" to this, but the mint/floral/musk is rather nice. I guess I'll hold out and decide at a later date.

[Keslynn]

I have really come to love Crow Moon. The first time I wore it, I thought it was okay, but now I find myself reaching for it fairly often. It's amazingly complex and gorgeous.

 

In the bottle, it's very earthy and dirty with a hint of evergreen to it. Smells like wet earth in a deep dark forest.

 

On my skin, the moist earthy forest smell is most pronounced at first. This is the very beginning of spring, when there are still patches of snow on the ground. Yet, despite all appearances, the earth is waking up. You can feel the energy of it thrumming beneath your feet, and you can smell it in the soil. Crow Moon captures it perfectly.

 

Later, a hint of something sweeter comes in over the deeper earth notes. Early spring floral where the smell of the greenery is stronger than the scent of the flowers? It's hard for me to describe well. It's not really that flowery, but it is a little brighter and sweeter. At this stage, my boyfriend says it smells "like old-fashioned candy." I can see where he's getting this. It really is like those white candies in the hard candy Christmas mix (the kind that always sticks together in the candy bowl because they're not individually wrapped).

 

Verdict: Complex and very evocative of the time of year. I'm surprised at how much I love this. Glad I have a bottle.

[kitsunenotsuki]

In Bottle: I smell cedar, vervain, and violet. Smells slightly of wintergreen.

 

Wet: I get mostly violet, with a little bit of white musk.

 

Dry: I smell winter flowers. It's soft and slightly sweet in a dry way, almost like a white wine.

[girl_android]

I gave this a test run not long after I received the decant, and then put it aside for a little while, partly cos life stuff got in the way, I guess?

 

In the imp, it's a musky floral to my nose. I'm a sucker for things with white musk in them ... there's another bunch of things I'm not sure I know the scent of... if I concentrate I can work out that there's violet (rather than just ... flowers!), and ... other things? Yep, my nose needs a vocabulary.

 

Wet on skin, there's a moment of sharp corners, florals and things settling down, but much like how it is in the imp.

 

Once dry, it's a soft and rounded thing, helped by the white musk. It seems more appropriate for after winter, rather than before, seeing as we're about to head into winter in the next month.

 

I quite like this, it feels lovely and rounded, it's just not a right now in this season where I am kind of scent ... we'll see how this goes when it is actually the end of winter in this half of the globe.

[Mimicake]

I like this one alot! It has a mint-like sweetnes to it, that is swimming in a light crisp floral. The floral fades to leave a smokey wooded mint on my skin. A well balanced scent, with something I could imagine everyone finding pleasing.

[Neely]

I worried about all the flowers in this one. Florals and I tend not to get along, with the exception of violets and depending on what other notes are there to temper it roses. I love snowdrops for themselves, but I have never smelt one, so I have now idea of their perfume. Will this snowy perfume be as good on me as all the others Beth has made? Inquiring minds want to know! I had to get this one as I love the Corvididae family, all of them. For the label alone I had to buy this. So here goes...

 

In the bottle: lovely frozen flowers. Not powdery baby's bum, not old lady, not candy. So far, so good.

 

Wet: lovely frozen flowers underneath cedar trees on a mountain side. The snow is melting in patches and I smell fresh clean earth, but frozen earth. It isn't the earth in Premature Burial, or Death Cap. This is more subltle the permafrost is still just below the surface.

 

Dry down: lovely flowers growing in melted patches of exposed earth under cedar trees on a mountain while cold air blows off banks of snow still present. *sings while dancing Beth and the labbies are geniuses!*

 

30 minutes: same. This really doesn't morph, it just gets stronger and better with time on my skin.

 

Conclusion: this really smells like exposed patches of earth, still frozen but exposed from the banks of snow nearby. Flowers grow out of this frozen earth under cedar trees on a mountain. This is the scent of the Rockies in April. This is the smell of that subtle line between Winter and Spring. As if Winter were leaving the room and the hem of her cloak was just slipping around the corner and all you could see of Spring was a pretty pink painted set of toes. Ok, so my metaphors may suck. But I can't describe as good as Beth makes them, heheh.

 

Rating 1-5: on my skin this is a 5.

[JennyGardener]

This is my first Moon blend. Oh my!

 

I smell it from the bottle, and I'm enchanted. When I put it on, I smell minty cool clean whiteness. It's snow! Very crisp and pristine, with, perhaps, animal tracks in it. Oh lovely! I am enchanted, walking in the woods with the tall black trees and the fresh white snow. It's so pure, so snow-sparkly. Later, much later, there's a bit of a thaw and a warming as the coolest notes melt down. It's still very sacred quiet, but it's a little more violet now. The crows are coming out and cawing, perhaps.

 

I am completely enchanted by the Crow Moon. If this is what Lunacies are...!

 

This is a new favorite scent! It also stays on my skin truer and longer than any other BPAL I've tried so far. Ohhhh, joyful!

 

But one thing this perfume is not - it is not sexy in the slightest. It's a very sacred and holy high perfume.

[tartchef]

See my avatar?

 

That's what Crow Moon smells like... Impossibly delicate, sweet little flowers pushing through the last crust of snow. Lots & lots of violet, but not a powdery guest-soap violet - this one is very deep & sweet, and you can smell the dark green-ness of the foliage - it's a spiky green, though, like evergreens & crocus leaves...

 

I agree that Darkling Thrush lovers will embrace this as well - it's a more complex, chillier scent, minus the warmth of the amber... This is not a scent you wear for other people - it's very quiet & private, but absolutely lovely....

[LadyBug]

This had a cold floral scent. I didn't know if I liked it the first few times I smelled it...but every time I smell it I like it a little more. I like the fact that it has a chilly scent because it will be good for spring! I wouldn't buy a bottle of this but I will definately be using my imp sparingly!

[spiralmissy]

I received a sniffie/testie imp with an Ebay order today, and I thought, at first, that it was Murder of Crows. Regardless, I was intrigued. Put it on right after a shower.

 

I can only think to describe Crow Moon like this:

 

It is one of those late night talks with someone you love, or used to love, or want to love. You and he (or she) go for a late night walk through the woods on cold dark February night at 2am. Snow that fell 2 days ago is still on the ground, but is crunchy and almost all melted in little piles around the roots of trees.

 

He lights a cigarette and the smell of the acrid smoke cuts through the freshness of the night. Sharp but not unpleasant. You keep talking and walking. There is crying, there are hurt feelings.

 

After a few hours, and a roller coaster of emotions, you realize this is not going to work out. But, it is OK. The sun is coming up, and it is getting warmer. You and he have worked through a lot, and are better, as friends, for it. But, you are exhausted, your head is spinning and aches from the long, emotionally fatiguing night.

 

You continue to walk, home? to, and you see some flowers budding through where there had been snow just hours earlier.

 

In less Emo terms, I got a string, sharp whiff of smoke when I opened the imp. Dark Green and Muddy Browns. Definitely ozone and mint of a cold night. Foresty.

 

Wet: Herby, woody

Dry - same as above, but after 20 minutes, the soft musk creeps in (finally) very nice, very soft.

 

Earlier, this was described as "aloof" - absolutely. Haunting and sad, but with hope.

 

While I would not have thought I would have liked this - it smelled delicious on me. Not a scent I would wear often, or need a bottle of, but it was awesome to get to try it. It does smell like an (expensive) perfume that I know, but cannot put my finger on.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle inoffensive and sinuous aquatic

wet on skin a touch of evergreen, a touch of herbs, a touch of flowers. lots of aquatic.

dry on skin because i'm fairly new to BPAL, a lot of my comparisons are backward. for instance, crow moon smells a lot like singing moon to me and evokes the same chilliness but without the saline quality that singing moon has in buckets. and it has a slight bite of sweet mint, which is a welcome addition. the mint with the evergreen make it a kinder, gentler version of old moon, as well.

 

i actually only purchased this bottle for the artwork and couldn't find an empty, so i've had it for some time without doing more than sniffing the bottle and deciding it wasn't really me. i'm not even sure what prompted me to put it on this morning, but it's an interesting experience. i may decant out the oil for swapping and just keep a smidge with the bottle.

[Shannihilation]

In the bottle this smells sharp and almost mediciney. Wet on my skin it's sharp and chilly and very perfumey. I came close to washing it off before it even dried. Now though I've had it on for a couple of hours and it's dried down to a soft, dusty, cool floral. I'm liking it far more than I expected to from the way it smelled in the bottle and then wet. It's so pretty now!

[alaitallon]

I got this one not really because I liked the sound of the ingredients (though I did), but mainly because I love crows and thought this would be fun to have. I have to say, I'm not disappointed! Wow! Definitely a really chilly smell at first. I can smell the evergreens straight off and at first it's the only thing that I can smell. After a bit, though, it blossoms into the spring scents of rather pleasant floral scents, with the evergreen still hanging in the background. Definitely an oil that evokes a feeling of the last days of winter before the world finally begins to warm again. I love it!

 

Rating: 8/10